During this spell of unemployment and affliction of the common cold, I came upon this NYT article about men and cats. The author claims that it is becoming socially acceptable for straight men to love cats rather than the archetypal pet dog (aka. MAN's best friend). I guess I didn't realize that this was an odd phenomenon.
It hasn't been since Desmond Morris' Catwatching have I really contemplated the gendered aspect of pet ownership. Morris mentions that far more women have taken to cats than men, partially due to qualities of their gender.
It makes sense that people would select pets based on their own personalities, but at that point in my life (about 6th grade or so) I hadn't realized the connection between women and cats and equally men with dogs. With images of Catwoman and Nekojin in mind, my youth became biased against dogs with their associations with masculinity. However, I've come around and now fully appreciate dogs as pets that provide the pack/family relationships that cats don't really give you. Don't get me wrong, I loved my cat, Brown Sugar (AKA "Kitty" because in Taiwanese/Chinese homes, you don't really need to name your pet). But, he was kind of anti-social and not as friendly as some dogs I've met. However, there are friendly cats out there, just as there are anti-social dogs. In fact, my Aunt Esther's cat, Snow White (RIP) was super friendly and would actually respond to its name.
What the author does not state in the NYT article, but does imply, is that it is that it is becoming socially acceptable for SINGLE straight men to like cats, and base their life choices around the love for their feline companions. That is, men seeking women (which btw, if you haven't checked out missed connections of m4w or w4m, you are missing a whole page of hilarity in your life). I guess the implication is that a single woman with a cat/cats is still attractive, but men are not.
The distinction is that if a couple has a cat, this would be more acceptable because the presence of the woman mitigates the feminizing aspect of the cat or simply explains its presence in the household (i.e. obviously the cat belongs to Mindy, Steve is a man's man). I don't believe this explanation is necessary for a couple owning a dog (i.e. obviously the dog belongs to Steve, Mindy is far too girly).
Whatever the case, I think I appreciate guys with cats. I mean hell, man or woman, if you can take care of another being in a supportive and healthy way, props to you. I'm not talking about the college student who gets a cat to get rid of mice in their apartment, forgets to feed it or change its litter, lets it poop in the sink, and then relies on another roommate's charity to care for it out of the kindness of their heart.
In fact, this video on an Engineer's Guide to Cats has reinspired my appreciation. In the meanwhile, because I seem to only become seriously involved with men who are allergic to everything, I am hoping to get one of these hypoallergenic cats. Fingers crossed.
